Study: Bias Hurts Life Of Boat People

October 4, 1985|By United Press International

MIAMI — Stereotypes characterizing Cuban and Haitian boat people who came to the United States in 1980 as criminals and misfits are incorrect, but they have made it difficult for them to assimilate, a study released Thursday shows.

A three-year study of 514 Cubans and 499 Haitians who arrived in the United States in 1980 shows they have generally the same economic and educational background and knowledge of English as earlier Cuban and Haitian immigrants.

''They do not constitute the scum and the low class that seems to be the perception among the community,'' said Alex Stepick of Florida International University in Miami.

The study, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, was conducted by Stepick along with Alejandro Portes of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Juan Clark of Miami-Dade Community College.

The study found little evidence of criminal history among the 1980 refugees, and it said fewer than 5 percent were mental patients. Most of those who had been arrested in their homelands were charged with political crimes, the researchers found.

The study said both groups have had a harder time adapting than earlier immigrants because of the unfavorable stereotypes. Unemployment rates for both groups were high and income levels were low.

The Marielitos were less likely than earlier Cuban immigrants to have relatives and friends in the United States, making resettlement more difficult, the study said. They also were ineligible for public assistance because the U.S. government at first refused to grant them political asylum.

Stepick said Haitians especially suffer from the inaccurate perception that they are illiterate and lazy.

''I hope that our data . . . which reveals a population that is fairly well-educated and very highly motivated, will help overcome some of the negative stereotypes,'' Stepick said.